Jo Beverley - [Rogue ]

Christmas Angel

The Company of Rogues

Book Three

by

Jo Beverley

New York Times & USA Today

Bestselling Author

CHRISTMAS ANGEL

Reviews & Accolades

Reader's Choice Award, Best Regency

"Ms Beverley exquisitely crafts a beautifully complex love story that will become a treasured addition to every Regency connoisseur. The Company of Rogues is well on its way to becoming one of the most cherished series ever in romantic fiction."

~Romantic Times

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Chapter 1

"If only they wouldn't keep falling in love with me."

Leander Knollis, Earl of Charrington, leaned his head against the high back of his chair and soberly contemplated the shadowed ceiling. It was late on a November night. Only a crackling fire and one branch of candles provided illumination in the small drawing room of Hartwell, the Marquess of Arden's charming cottage in Surrey.

Despite Leander's lugubrious tone, the said marquess did not seem inclined to tears of sympathy. In fact Lucien de Vaux burst out laughing and even his wife, Beth, hid a smile.

"What else can a handsome war hero expect?" asked Lucien.

"Good God, man. War heroes are two a penny within months of Waterloo."

"I did say
handsome
war hero. Stop smiling at the young hopefuls at Almack's. You know the power of your smiles."

Leander flashed him a humorously bitter look. "I do ration 'em, Luce. But I can hardly go a-wooing with a scowl on my face."

The three of them were comfortably informal. Leander and Lucien had shed their cravats and let their shirts stand open at the neck. Beth was in a loose cloth gown with a large Norwich shawl around her shoulders. She sat on a footstool by her husband's chair, resting contentedly against his knee, his hand a warm, familiar presence against her neck.

"I don't know," she said thoughtfully, studying Leander with a twinkle in her eye. "There's something so irresistible about a tortured soul. I think we ladies all think we're the only one able to provide the needed solace. No woman can resist such a challenge."

"I don't present a challenge," protested Leander. "I've been a very paragon these past weeks. I dance with the wallflowers, I'm polite to the chaperones, and I'm not too obvious in my search for a bride."

"Then," Lucien said, "I suggest that you choose a bride with all speed. I can vouch for the fact that marriage makes life more comfortable in a vast number of ways." His fingers played a secret message among the curls at Beth's nape, and she looked up at him with a smile.

They were still newlyweds, at least in their own opinion. The wedding had been in June but their marriage had not truly started for some weeks after that, and a number of other events had conspired to keep them from this delayed honeymoon until September.

And now, after only six weeks of blissful privacy, an uninvited guest had arrived at the door.

Leander Knollis, Earl of Charrington, lately of the Guards, had only been a name to Beth before this evening. He was one of the Company of Rogues, however, and so she had not been surprised when Lucien unhesitatingly made him free of their rural retreat.

The Company of Rogues had been formed in his first days at Harrow by the enterprising Nicholas Delaney. He had gathered twelve carefully selected boys together, and formed them into a protective association. During their school years they had defended each other against injustice and bullying. In the years since they had largely been a social group, coming together when occasion permitted, but it was understood that the bond still held. Any of them could call on the others at need.